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Jamie McCrimmon’s head was banging. He had an intense headache, and it just wouldn’t go away. He didn’t know what happened, how he got it or why it wasn’t going away. All he remembered was trekking up the fields, then falling over and everything going black. That Doctor guy and his two friends long gone. He barely knew them. But he knew they helped him get back here.
The fighting had died down. He knew this because he wasn’t immediately put down for execution. Just stared at weirdly. That’s when his head started hurting. Like he was being told something he wasn’t supposed to be hearing. But it was unintelligible.
It didn’t stop as Jamie was pulled home to the rest of his clan, or what survived of it. After all, Jamie was one of the younger to go out, even if young was 22 in everyone’s eyes. He was welcomed back with love, and soon it felt like no time had passed at all. Though he knew many of them had sailed to France, some had gotten boats back to Scotland. Kirsty was aboard one of those boats.
But it felt like time had passed. He’d felt like years had gone by in a single moment. But he couldn’t remember any of it. He felt like he’d aged, though his body told him otherwise.
Maybe he could just sleep it off. A headache usually went away when he slept.
But that didn’t work. He awoke really early in the morning with nothing much to do but bury his face into a pillow and hope the pain went away. It felt horrid. His head was burning, obviously trying to scrub his mind of something. It tore at the edges of it, breaking down every painful memory over the past month.
He thought of how the whole ordeal began. Not just how the battle began, but how he got here in the first place. How the little time he’d spent with Ben now felt like forever ago, and the few things Kirsty went on about that Polly taught her.
But again, there wasn’t too much room for thought in place of the pain.
—
Kirsty had found him sitting in his bed, and she’d brought him a small tray of food.
“You deein alright?” She asked, sitting next to him. Jamie looked up at her, trying to put on a smile. She noticed how tired he was. Everyone was, but Jamie looked worse by a country mile.
“Aye I’m fine.”
“You dinnae look it. Would ye tell me what’s goin’ on?”
“Ma heeds banging. Is that enough for ye?” Jamie replied, annoyed. He drank a little bit of water. “I dinnae ken how this happened. Maybe I bumped it on the way down.”
Kirsty stared into his eyes. They were cloudy, but not in a concerning way. She ruffled his hair. “I’m sure it’ll pass.” She said, her voice slow. “But….yer eyes.”
“What about them?” Jamie asked.
“They look…alder, they’ve seen a lot more than ye think.”
Jamie looked at her confused, then clutched his head again. Still hurting, still painful. “And how could ye ken that?”
“That lassie Polly. She telt me a few things.” She responded, looking off into space. Wait, how did he know that phrase? “She was affa strange, but she knew how to stand up for herself.” She said.
“Oh aye, ye seemed close.” Jamie commented. “She was a pretty lassie.”
Kirsty glanced at him with a not so nice look on her face, but it faded quickly. “What about that loon uh- Ben his name was?”
“Och, Ben was something.” He replied. He thought about the Englishman. Blonde and cockney and very loud and stubborn. He liked Ben, he probably would’ve been good mates had he stayed. “Ye ken he survived a ducking?”
“Did he?” She asked, curious.
“Aye! He was a strong one. Though that Doctor…” Jamie trailed off, trying to think. He’d hardly seen The Doctor, as he’d tried to play both sides, and put on a fake German accent through half of it. He dressed weird too, probably the weirdest of that trio. But yet…
“Jamie?”
He rubbed his head. “Apologies. Thought I’d forgotten something. Probably nothing. But that Doctor was strange.”
“Och, ye should’ve seen him. He was a right granny with me and Polly.” Kirsty laughed.
“Ohh was he now.” Jamie laughed along. Though her laugh reminded him of someone. Someone sitting in the corner of his mind. Long brown curly hair and short dresses. Someone…
His head hurt again. He gripped his hair for a little while as it calmed. Maybe trying to remember things was the problem. But what was there to remember? Obviously nothing.
“But he put the plan together that saved us all. We owe it to him.” Said Kirsty. Jamie nodded.
“Aye I agree with ‘at.” Jamie responded. “That’s why I helped him and his friends out.”
“I wonder where they’re off to?” Kirsty asked.
Jamie smiled a little. It had been a long few days. A very long few days. He felt tired. It was all too strange for him. “Who knows?”
His head felt lighter as he said that. Maybe it was best to let it all go. Let what go, he didn’t know. But he just wanted to clear his head. Focus on the present, the future, not the past.
Kirsty stood, and smiled at him. “I hope you feel better. It’s nae the same down there without ye.”
Jamie smiled. She left him there, joining everyone else downstairs. He hadn’t seen them properly since the headaches got worse, but actually talking to someone, specifically someone who was with him when everything happened, seemed to heal him a bit. He looked at the little bit of food on his plate, taking a few small bites. He wasn’t too hungry, just tired again. How long would this headache last?
So he just went to bed again.
—-
Jamie had woken up early again. But this time his head felt lighter. Much lighter. It barely hurt at all. He breathed a sigh of relief, tipping his head back and slowly opening his eyes. There was little to no light, and last night's food lay on its tray on the floor.
He smiled. The worst had passed. He climbed out of his bed, slowly and steadily, wanting to take a peek outside. See how Scotland had settled in the fallout. So he pushed open the door, still in the filthy kilt from days prior and stepped into the moonlight.
Jamie had lost track of time. So much time had passed. Too much. But it was best not to think about it. He was home, he was alright.
The stars had dimmed. That wasn’t for anything particularly worrying. He’d seen the stars disappear many times. It just meant dawn was approaching. A new day. Finally free from everything for now.
He watched the sun rise over the horizon. The rolling hills of his home land bathing in the light as it spilled further out. He could see it now. He had a future, something to look forward to. No more would he look back. Not now.
“I dinnae need a Doctor anymore.” He said. The words rolled off his tongue. And the headaches ceased immediately. The light hit his face, a warmth spreading through his body. He smiled.
Jamie wasn’t sure if he’d made the right decision that day. To forget. He didn't know why thinking of The Doctor made him hurt. So he chose not to think of it.